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Christo Saint Tropez

Wed, 09/12/2018 - 17:51

Saint Tropez welcomed a new high-end art address to its main square this summer with the launch of the Fondation Linda & Guy Pieters in the Place des Lices. The inaugural exhibition is in homage to the work of celebrated artist Christo and his magnificent Mastaba project.

In June, Christo unveiled the London Mastaba in Hyde Park. The temporary sculpture consists of 7,506 horizontally stacked barrels on a floating platform in the Serpentine Lake, and is the first major outdoor work of his to be displayed on British soil. The Mastaba concept is an enduring one for the Bulgaria-born artist; its origins can be traced back in his work to 1958.

At the same time as the physical presentation, an exhibition is being held at the Serpentine Galleries in London (until 9th September) that shares a theme with the opening event at Linda and Guy Pieters Fondation. Both draw on Christo’s journey with his wife Jeanne-Claude (1935-2009) of creating his now numerous mastaba (meaning house for eternity or eternal house in Ancient Egyptian). Christo was in fact present at the Saint Tropez location in late July to sign copies of his newly released book: Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Barrels and The Mastaba, 1958–2018. The Fondation’s exhibition, which includes preparatory works, is open until 23rd September.

The new gallery space is free to enter for the public and hopes to host three to four exhibitions per year. Next spring, the gallerist, who also operates three art institutions in Belgium, plans to open the doors to his garden and its sculpture collection in the Canoubiers area of Saint Tropez.